Saturday, March 21, 2015

Airshow, Airlines and Apology

It's been awhile that this blog posted anything about airlines since Khazanah announced their yet another turnaround plan. Since there have been many development since, might as well write all the happenings together as to update.

Despite the two aircrashes during training by the Indonesian stunt team [read Rakyat Post here], LIMA 2015 began today. This is the first LIMA for Defense Minister, Dato Hishamuddin Hussein Onn.

He claimed this year's LIMA will be the best ever. [Read MMO here]. He is not kidding because Dato Najib repeated the same claim [read Bernama here].

Words are he has been flying UMNO Division Heads over to Pulau Langkawi. Maybe he is just being thoughtful to give Division Heads exposure on the biggest ever LIMA. It is an industry convention which serve to put all the players - military and civil, aviation and maritime - together.

Though Malaysia is not shopping, more than RM9 billion of deals inked. [Read NST here].

Talk along PWTC is that Hishamuddin started his Deputy President campaign for next year's party election.

Customarily, there will be rumours of money being allegedly splurged to convert supporters of competitor, Dato Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. But, there is no way of confirming and such allegations seemed presumptous.

One exco Pemuda UMNO, Armand defended Hishamuddin from such rumours. Armand is a PJ Utara UMNO member, former Wira Perkasa chief and widely believed to be Khaliry's boys. Does that mean it will be a Hishamuddin-KJ tagteam?

Rumours are Mukhriz boys started campaigning too. There have been this political hypothesis that after the RAHMAN plan, the UMNO succession plan will follow their respective fathers. The tagteam could be Hishamuddin-Mukhriz first and later Mukhriz-Khairy.

Anyway, heard there was some unhappy faces among the Division Heads after their ride on a Charlie cargo transport plane to Langkawi. For one, the Sabah Division Heads didn't appreciate the over 5 hours flight.

There is also complain from a former aides to Hishamuddin who question as to why must it only be Division heads? Why not the pakciks and makciks? Dato Mark ...TST tahu sama tahu la...

Maritime Silk Road

Alas, most of the UMNO Division Heads will only appreciate the air shows and not so much the pre-LIMA military conference or industry exhibitions.

For this year, the media is promoting the all women air stunt show from China as the attraction. [read in The Star here]. Media usually promote what the organiser suggest.

If that is so, Hishamuddin's remark as host at the defence conference is quite shocking. It is a change from his statement at ASEAN defense summit in Yangoon. The Star reported below:

He is asking China to come clean on the Maritime Silk Road planned by China for the region. What does he mean by using the term "come clean"? How does the tone of his statement when he mentioned it?

In the international scene, aren't we supposed to analyse every move by our neighbour? It seemed like we are not doing our homework by asking China for answers. If that is not the case, Hishamuddin statement is giving a warning to China. [Read the Star report in full here.]

This blog can see what the MSR is about and had written it here. Unless Malaysia is at war with China, such words from the Minister of Defense is inappropriate.

The matter is the concern of the Foreign Ministry. Quite sure Foreign Ministry done their analysis in which it is within their purview. In January 2015, Malaysia expressed our support for MSR and Transport Minister, Dato Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia's recommendation was incorporated in the MSR [read The Star here and here].

How could the survey-endorsed future Prime Minister not do his homework? It sounds like a familiar incident. Did Hishamuddin refer to Taiwan or Japan to determine MINDEF position on MSR?

Maybe he is the future PM because he could override cabinet policy and determine government policies spontaneously.

Turnaround and round

While writing this posting, the TV afternoon news reported the CEO for MAS Newco, Christophe Mueller is due to join in May 1st. [read MMO here].

Everyone in MAS knows Khazanah management had set end of March to serve the termination letters together with offer letters for MAS Newco for the selected staff. Most long serving staff are eager to leave the company in which management have no appreciation for their human resource and expect workload for newco to be impossible.

It sounded like the same mistake that Khazanah did when bringing in Ahmad Jauhari as CEO when Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, and Dato Danny Yusof that did the collaboration with Air Asia. They conveniently executed the plan but it was left to AJ to operate and take the responsibility for the success and failure for the same duo that put the failed WAU.

Despite one cabin crew said passengers told her that Mueller failed in his turnaround at Sabena and Aer Lingus, no Mat Salleh would want to be told what to do in that manner. Rumours are saying Mueller was not happy with the turnaround plan put together by Khazanah and one young female officer planning the routes for MAS.

He must have disagreed with retrenchment plan of 6,000 staff and absorb the remaining. Such resistance can only be expected to come from someone with operational experience. The 6,000 number must have came up from Microsoft Excel simulation of a former Investment Banker .

Over heard from MCOBA boys of Amokh batch that he confide not knowing what to do any more with MAS. This blog have been saying the same all these years.

Heard Amokh gave assurance to one cabin crew that jobs for critical area in an airline namely; pilot, cabin crew and engineering are safe. How could he say so when he intend to outsource engineering like Airasia, and cut more route suspiciously for Airasia?

Does his turnaround plan has a revenue generating and marketing plan? Or MAS future business is a RM6 billion property development in Subang?

It was only three weeks ago that Amokh told MAS staff in a townhall meeting that the turnaround plan is moving smoothly. Yesterday (Friday) a new announcement said the issuance of the termination letter for MAS employee will be delayed to June 1st and Newco will hire in September [read The Star here].

Looks like another turnaround failure and the common factor is Amokh.

Not too good

If things at MAS is looking as though Khazanah people don't know WTF they are doing, it is not looking good for Airasia too.

There was rumours that Tan Sri Tony Fernandez will announced Airasia Phillipines for IPO on March 16 [read The Star here]. However, a commentator left two comments this morning on the situation in Airasia:

Things have not been too good for Airasia since the crash of Air Asia Indonesia. When lives are lost, this blog does not take it lightly. We express our condolence to Airasia when it happened. Honest ... see it here.

Since the dreadful two crashes of MAS and despite it being Airasia Indonesia, it is still a part of Malaysia's Airasia, this blog refrained from commenting about airlines. It leaves a poor aftertaste to comments any more on Malaysian civil aviation. Something we dreaded to happen, happened.

In the midst of the aftermath of safety issues, commentors alerted that this blog was sued by Airasia and there was bankruptsy proceeding against a person claimed to be the blogger. As far as the writer or writers of this blog (there is more than one contributor) is/are concerned, there was no writ of summon served.

Pity the fella to be bankrupted. Must have been the result of him being accused the same by a PAS politician and a former Reformasi ativist.

The posting was made in the midst of GE13 campaign and it came from an airline source. Without sufficient time to check, the posting used a poser as a title. But comments came in to tell that it was a fake.

And when found to be a prank, this blog admitted it was a prank and ate humble pie in the subsequent posting.

The contributing blogger erred for not stating an apology. It is too late to do so and not legally relevent but on behalf of the writer, WE APOLOGISE to Airasia. Thus, it is only fair we take down all these postings.

Hope there is sympathy on the innocent chap. No individual is as lucky as Rafizi to be able to have cool cash of RM2 million after merely 6 years as Petronas officer. Airasia may have not realised that the writer admitted of being wrong in the subsequent posting.

Nevertheless, one blogger Gmie Wakening here appreciated the posting. He claimed Airasia had frequent occurance of safety and technical issues. There was even a technical problem on March 10 recently as reported by Australian ABC News.

12 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Wow, so long your post this time, bro. Must leave it long enough to garner 50 comments. There must be many, as mention is made of UMNO Deputy Presidency aspirants.

I for one don't think the follow-their- respective-fathers UMNO succession plan will materialize, desirable or become realistic. I'm for Muhyiddin and Ahmad Zahid. Whether they will tag as a team is a question but I don't like no-action-when-Home Minister Hishamuddin and the guilty-politik-wang KJ.

Muhyiddin and Zahid appear firm and willing to really protect and promote the rights and interests of the Malays. And get the country move on based on the Constitution of the country, not undue layan-ing Chinese schools, not talking about discarding he Sedition Act etc. From these angles, I want Najib out.

Najib wants developed nation status even at the expense of the rights and interests of the Malays. Sidelining the NEP in his Dasar Baru Ekonomi and nearly threw out the Sedition Act which protests all the sensitive Articles of the Constitution - those that form the rights and interests of the Malays.

Hishamuddin does not seem to have ideas of his own - he just apes what his cousin says, when not sure, let things be, like when he was Minister of Home Affairs, got called Menteri Amaran etc. Oh no, not him as a potential PM, please.

I think not much should be attached to one cabin crew saying "passengers told her that Mueller failed in his turnaround at Sabena and Aer Lingus," when news media reports have spoken for Mueller's credentials in glowing terms.

But I agree with you that no Mat Salleh would want to be told what to do in that manner and not given a free hand in running the airline. Not even a Mat Abdul who is worth his salt. But Mat Sabun - the bloke even said communist terrorist Mat Indera is a hero. Stupid son of gun. Azman Mokhtar would be like that if he says, Lookee here, we've got the turn around plan for you, now you turn it around the way we want you to do.

Hope Mueller would join MAS after all and given a free hand in trying to turn it around.

Yes, there is sympathy for the innocent chap re the Air Asia matter. William Shakespeare wrote, "there is a tide in the affairs of man .." and the Malay proverb says "pandai panai tupai melompat, ada masa nya ..."

So, be human, accept people's apologies, forgive and forget. Nobody is perfect and when one faces a low tide, one would have a lot of sympathies from others if one forgives and forgets the mistakes of others.

And I agree that Airasia had frequent occurrences of safety and technical issues, including a technical problem recently. They are all on the news and recorded. The forgiving would get people's sympathies on such events, especially when an air crash occurs involving loss of many lives and huge financial losses.

Anybody knows of any one else in the entire world who would declare a target of becoming PM by 40, other than KJ?

He sounded crazy and had even acted crazy in several instances in the past. That he did the politik wang thing may not sound crazy to some, but it was and it in fact is crazy especially when you have declared that target.

Remember, not all Malays mudah lupa. UMNO Youth delegates who voted him might have been, they might even have been one of a kind, but the many who are not mudah lupa will continue to oppose and voice out against such characters endlessly.

The running to Anwarul Al Juburi (pangkat Mat Sabu beri) with a passport for the released convict to go to Germany was also crazy. Then when the paw in law was dethroned, he changed his attitude towards the now-imprisoned Al Juburi. Yes, Ahmad Zahid was also doing the bidding for Anwar at one time in UMNO Youth. But done not like a budak kecik manner, rushing to meet the sodomist with a passport. No decorum, no decency, not the mark of leadership.

And there have been instances when, as UMNO Youth Head, he had spoken the tune of MCA and the non-Malays on such issues as BM, Single stream schooling etc. UMNO Youth had been the outfit that serves as check and balance on the unreasonable demands of the no-Malays, especially those that encroach on the rights and interests of the Malays, like places at public universities, scholarships etc. Those are not unlimited and giving away to members of the richest community in the country, who have access to private universities at home and abroad, and so many of them millionaires who contribute millions of Ringgit for the less fortunate among them.

Why r u pining for Tengku A Rahman? You love him for agreeing to citizenship right for the non-Malays at Merdeka, relaxing the rules for the issue of citizenship certificates after Merdeka, despite the DAP buggers never saying thank you, like what MCA under Tun Tan Siew Sin and MIC under Tun Sambanthan did not long before the race riots of 13 May 1969?

The race riots that were caused by the DAP as can be read in the White Paper produced by the National Operations Council.

Maybe you love him more for giving away Singapore to Lee Kuan Yew FOC. And LKY imported Chinese until Singapore becomes 72% Chinese. For all those, he'd be smiling on this deathbed in Hong Kong now.

Never before in the modern history of mankind that sort of stupid and treacherous thing done. Throughout the history of mankind, nations go to war to protect and defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity - heard of those words? The history of this country must be re-written to show that unacceptable and most despicable act of TAR so that no other leader would dare even think of anything like that in the future, ever.

As a punishment for the treacherous act, none of his "genes" or offspring should be allowed to move up in the politics of this country.

In November 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to create a 40 billion USD development fund, which would help finance China's plans to develop the New Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. China has accelerated its drive to draw Africa into the MSR by speedy construction of a modern standard-gauge rail link between Nairobi and Mombasa.

For another side of MSR, read http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/whats-it-like-to-have-china-build-you-a-port-ask-cameroon/.

An extract below:

And the port is only part of the story. Work continues on roads and railways to link the new port to major urban areas, including the capital of Yaounde — projects also associated with Chinese companies. The ultimate goal is to have an industrial zone of 260 square kilometers associated with Kribi, currently a city of 55,000 people best known as a resort town. The plan has sparked an “urbanization master plan” designed to modernize Kribi’s roads and buildings. Cameroon hopes Kribi port will eventually become a shipping center not only for the country, but for all of West Africa.

In other words, the Kribi project is far more than just a port — it’s an attempt to create an entirely new business and industrial hub in Cameroon. Chinese projects in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Gwadar, Pakistan (all associated with the MSR) are equally ambitious. The multi-layered nature of these projects should put to rest the idea that they are primarily intended as to accommodate future PLA Navy missions (although, as we saw in Sri Lanka last year, Chinese ships will likely pay visits to these new ports). Rather they are designed to push forward economic growth in developing nations – both creating new markets for Chinese goods and making it easier for China to extract the resources it needs – all while providing lucrative contracts for Chinese companies.

As with other Chinese development projects, there are criticisms of this strategy. Kribi locals complain of their homes and businesses being demolished to make way for new construction. Anticipation of Kribi’s future as a trading hub has also caused an influx of migrants, raising housing and food prices in the town. Further, there have been complaints that many of the jobs involved in port construction, even menial work like truck driving, went to Chinese workers rather than Cameroonians. Of the 1,125 people at work on the harbor in August 2013, only around half (609) were Cameroonians. But the Cameroonian government argues that the long-term benefits (including future job creation) will be a boon for the country.

Obviously, each country and investment project is different, but potential recipients of Chinese investment for the Maritime Silk Road have plenty of precedents to look at ...

Unless Najib has something up his sleeves for a successful wooing of PAS to "work together" with UMNO (not necessarily forming a coalition or Pakatan of any kind) at PRU14, he needs to woo certain UMNO Division Heads by taking them to LIMA in Langkawi, even LIMA in Andean Mountains of South America. To ensure the 88 UMNO seats remain in their hands at PRU14.

You see, I think not all is well in the state of UMNO affairs. I believe in the Penang UMNO man who was reported to have said that there was some acrimony during the Ketua Bahagians meeting at PWTC organized by Ahmad Sabri recently.

Remember, not long before that, the UMNO Bahagians, Youth and Wanita have clamoured for the retention of the Sedition Act. Although Najib had announced his decision to retain the Act, there is still some unpleasant after taste. Because the implications were huge.

Without the Sedition Act, all the sensitive Articles of the Constitution would be subject to questioning, and, even demands for amendment. And all those are matters that constitute the rights and interests of the Malays which UMNO has been sworn to protect and promote. Questioning those will lead to all hell breaking loose, must be avoided, hence the Sedition Act must never be discarded.

It's mind bogling why Najib even considerrd discarding the Sedition Act. It leaves permanent scars in the minds of many people. His intentions become suspect after that. He definitely has to convince many Ketua Bahagians who have been disenchanted with his leadership. I believe there are quite a few. In addition to those somewhat sickened by Rosmah's doings, not getting satisfactory answers to questions on 1MDB, etc.

He is populist in his politics and is not good for the Malays. He must base his actions on an interpretation of the Constitution that favours the interests of the Malays. For example, enhance the NEP in line with the Special Position of the Malays and the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak. That Article was placed in the Constitution not just for the fun of it. It was in consideration for the Malays agreeing to citizenship right of the non-Malays. That must have a huge value. It was given FOC, and the quid pro quo must be exploited fully.

I strongly support UMNO but not Najib. Because of his past actions. He certainly is not better than Abdullah Badawi in protecting and promoting Malay rights and interests, in ensuring all citizens respect and abide by the Constitution. The erratic fellows seem to think freedom is absolute and the Police has had their hands full since Tun Dol's time. Much worse when Najib repealed the ISA, the RRA and the EO.